More bombings in Homs as blast reported in Deraa

Published March 3rd, 2012 - 14:46 GMT

Syrian troops continued Saturday to bomb the city of Homs where the authorities continued to block a convoy of humanitarian aid from the International Red Cross.

Syrian troops continued Saturday to bomb the city of Homs where the authorities continued to block a convoy of humanitarian aid from the International Red Cross. The convoy has been trying for several days to access thousands of civilians trapped in the district of Baba Amr.

According to local activists, shells hit on Saturday morning Khaldiyeh neighborhoods and Bab Sbaa. Abu Hassan al-Homsi, a doctor at a makeshift clinic of Khaldiyeh neighborhood, said he treated a dozen of people injured. "It has become routine, the mortar shells began to fall early in the morning," said the doctor, adding that several homes were destroyed by artillery fire.

In Baba Amr, where Syrian forces took control during the week after the withdrawal of the insurgents, thousands of civilians were desperate for help. An ICRC convoy carrying 15 tons of food and first aid equipment left Friday Damascus for Homs, after a go-ahead from the regime. But the convoy, once on scene, did not receive permission to enter Baba Amr, without explanation from the Syrian government, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. "It is unacceptable that people who need for weeks emergency assistance have not received any help,"lamented Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC president. "We are still negotiating entering Baba Amr," said the spokesman of the humanitarian organization, Hisham Hassan. "It is important that we get in today. We will not give up," he added. Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon urged the regime in Damascus to let the convoy provide the humanitarian aid. "The images we see in Syria are atrocious. This is totally unacceptable, intolerable. How can we, as a human beings, tolerate this situation?", Asked Mr. Ban.

Meanwhile, an suicide car bombing attack Saturday morning left two dead and 20 wounded in the southern town of Deraa, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. The official news agency SANA reported several casualties, including civilians and members of security forces.